B2B businesses are continuing to shift focus from print to digital, causing marketers to place greater emphasis on SEO, social media, and paid ads.
As companies increase their investments in digital marketing, it can sometimes be easy to lose sight of the fundamental role of marketing, which is to make the sales process easier.
Marketers need to deliver the right content for search engines and social networks in order to bring traffic to their blog and website. However, it’s hard to break through the noise and have your marketing message heard.
One way to overcome this challenge is to deliver content through a different medium all together – sales reps.
STOP, collaborate, and listen
The objectives of both marketing and sales departments complement each other perfectly. The synergy from this collaborative relationship can increase revenue and customer retention or have an adverse effect on the business.
If a marketing strategy is not successful, the sales team is usually the first to know because fewer leads are coming in and fewer conversions are occurring. If you begin to see this happening, it can be an indication that the marketing team needs to work more closely with the sales team to ensure the materials they deliver to support sales are what the reps actually need.
The success of a marketing strategy is directly correlated with how connected marketing is with the sales team. Throughout the entire sales process, transparent collaboration and communication between the two departments will help both parties understand what’s working and what additional areas that sales reps needs support.
Close with Content
Tight-knit collaboration will help Sales and Marketing synchronize their efforts, and then it will be up to Marketing to deliver what reps need to close. The next step is for Marketing to actually create the content and resources to support reps throughout the entire lifecycle of a deal.
Here are a few ways content is critical at all points in the sales funnel:
If you want to attract more visitors to your website, you need content.
Although social media sites, paid ads, and other digital marketing programs provide a channel to attract visitors to your site, you first need content like blogs, whitepapers, and webinars to support these campaigns.
If you want to convert top-of-funnel leads into bottom-of-funnel opportunities, you need content. Offering a research report or thought leadership webinar can attract prospects, turn them into leads, and help move them further along the pipe. Sending out reoccurring newsletters or nurture campaigns packed with great content is another way to support prospects throughout their buying journey.
If you want to turn prospects into customers, and keep them loyal, you need content. It’s not enough for marketing to generate educational content to support top-of-funnel activities; they must also generate content that supports reps in all stages of the sales cycle – even after close. These efforts will help strengthen existing customer relationships by giving them the opportunity to engage with educational, thought-provoking content.
At the end of the day, companies should invest in digital marketing to drive new leads and win more business. But to ensure that these programs take flight, Marketing must collaborate with Sales to learn what type of content best resonates with buyers and will help bring in new business.
